DAREDEVIL Buddhist Leigh Gill will be taking a giant leap of faith this Christmas - straight out of an aeroplane.

Spiritualist Leigh, 27, from Langley, is set to skydive 15,000ft dressed as one of Santa's Elves for a festive fund-raiser.

He will be joined by four other Buddhists from the Macclesfield Meditation Group, based at Great King Street, who hope to build a World Peace Garden and conservatory at the Vairochana Buddhist Centre in Manchester.

Multi-media designer Leigh, who has skydived before, but only from 2,000ft, will free fall at speeds of up to 120mph, covering the first 10,000ft in just 60 seconds.

Although he doesn't have a head for heights, Leigh says he is looking forward to the experience.

"Skydiving definitely puts you in touch with the world and makes you feel small in the scheme of things," he said.

"I used to be in the parachute club at university and did two 2,000ft jumps but nothing like this!

"I will be nervous on the day because I'm actually not too keen on heights, I got very sick up the Eiffel Tower once and had to come down.

"We will all be doing it in Christmas fancy dress so I'm going as Santa's helper and there will be a turkey as well. We have raised £1,000 to go towards the project.

"I think only one other person has done a jump before, so I might have to do some morale boosting."

So far, a total of £6,000 has been raised towards the Peace Garden project which is expected to cost £8,000.

Buddhist groups all over Greater Manchester and Cheshire have played a part in the fund-raising.

"We want to help pay some money towards the Peace Garden and conservatory for the people of Manchester and one of the ideas was to do this jump," explained Leigh.

"We are trying to build a garden where people can come in and sit and relax and get away from the world - it will be like an oasis of peace in the city."

"The people who come to the Macclesfield Meditation Group have been very kind with sponsorship raising around £500," said Leigh.

When asked if he is planning any other daring fund-raisers, Leigh replied: "I don't think so, I'm going to try and keep my feet on the ground after this."

Anyone who wishes to sponsor Leigh can contact the Vairochana Centre on 0161 861 7012.